A Christmas miracle
by Lily272
Summary: Summary: Christmas is nearly there but Mokuba, who is all grown up now, will be with his girlfriend and not at home. Seto doesn't mind but someone does and intends to give the dragon a little present. But who is this secret Santa?Warning:Extreme sappyness
1. Chapter 1

**A Christmas miracle part one**

'Hey Dragon.

And don't get your ego all high and mighty because of that nickname, I'm calling you Dragon because you are arrogant and foul tempered like one. And just like a dragon you're always alone. I heard that even Mokuba wouldn't be with you this Christmas. But even a foul tempered dragon like yourself shouldn't be alone on Christmas, so I got a surprise for you. I'll give you one hint, you probably will use my nickname for your present, and hopefully not for me anymore.

Love,

your secret Santa.'

Seto sat in his office and read this words after opening a letter that was on his desk, together with a whole bunch of others. The only difference was that this letter didn't have a post stamp. He shortly wondered who brought this letter and what he was supposed to make of it. He was insulted by the writer of the letter but at the same time this person promised him a present. The only thing Seto knew for sure was that it wasn't a fangirl. They wouldn't insult him. especially not by calling him a dragon. Some had used this nickname before but never as an insult and Seto had come to like the nickname, even though he never cared for the girls, but now he wasn't as sure if he still liked it or not.

There weren't many suspects that could have written this though, considering that there weren't a great deal of people that already knew that Mokuba wasn't coming for the holidays and there were even less that would give Seto something, even though he was picking on them. It actually left one or two and considering the stile of writing, it was most likely the Mutt. But what this person didn't know was that it was pointless to give him something to stop him from being lonely, because he didn't mind. Seto wasn't alone because it just happened that he had ended up alone. He had chosen to be alone years ago. At a time where he had fallen in love with someone, who would never love him back and if he would, it would probably destroy the guy Seto loved and that was the one thing he didn't want to happen and so Seto watched over him from a distance, not letting anyone know that he cared for that person and Seto was contend with that. As long as the other was happy, so was he.

Seto threw the letter in the drawer of his desk. He didn't really care who had written that letter or what present he might get from this so called secret Santa. Thinking about it would be a waste of time anyway, because it would be revealed by itself in the end and Christmas was close by now, so he wouldn't even have to wait for long. And so he continued to work.

But just one day later he got another letter on his desk that didn't have a post stamp and upon opening it, he found a dog tag with the KC from his company on it.

'Hey Dragon.

How is your pride? Hope no one stepped on it, because I don't want you to turn into a murderer. I wonder if you'd ever go that far, well actually I doubt it, you'd be threatening it yes, but you're way too much of a softy inside to actually go through with it, at least I like to think so. Well, you probably wonder why I write again and to be honest, I just do it to get on your nerves. I love messing with your head. Oh and I've got an early surprise gift for you. Just to get you ready for your present.

Love,

your secret Santa.'

Seto looked at the dog tag and tunred it around to read the words 'If lost please return to the biggest jerk in history.' Seto stared at it and thought P_lease don't let him get me a puppy, I really don't have time for a mutt. _Seto loved dogs and used to wish for one when he was younger and just started to live in the Kaiba Mansion. At a time where he was forced to learn so hard that on some days he didn't even get to see Mokuba. He had longed for someone to cuddle and talk to, who would never be able to betray him by telling his secrets to others or talk about the tears that had fallen down from his eyes some nights when he was a child. The tears that came when he was so lonely that he couldn't bare it anymore. And to be completely honest, now that Mokuba had moved out to go to college, he sometimes wished for something to just hug and cuddle, that would never tell anyone that he did that. A dog would be perfect but a little puppy would make him look way too soft and weak. And Seto needed his reputation.

Seto gave a sigh and put everything away again. Once more would he have to first do his work and then maybe waste some thoughts on this. He really couldn't use some cute little puppy. But this time he couldn't refocus his thoughts on his work as easily as the last time. His thoughts kept returning to the letter and the possible author of it. Seto was nearly sure that it was his Mutt, Joey Wheeler. There just couldn't be any other person that not only knew about his brother not coming home for Christmas, but also would be bold enough to talk to him in such a manner. The thought that he might at least get to fight with Joey, was raising his spirits more than he would ever admit to anyone. Not even his little brother knew how much Seto enjoyed fighting with the Mutt. Joey's face, when he got angry, was priceless and for those short moments all of Joey's attention belonged to him. Of course Seto didn't fight with Joey to get his attention. It would be foolish to fight with someone he secretly admired and liked just to get his attention and even Seto's social abilities weren't that terrible. But in this special circumstances it was the only thing Seto could get.

Joey had never shown the slightest interest and to tell the truth, Seto had started to pick on the blond long before the blond had managed to gain his respects and slowly steal his heart. But by then it was too late. Joey was showing a lot of interest in Mai Valentine, even though it sometimes seemed to be like Joey saw her more like an older sister. Seto was still sure that Joey wasn't interested in him and never would be. They were too different to have a relationship. Joey had no idea of proper manners, not even in school or other social events of his middle class life. If that was what he had and considering the place he lived in, Seto doubted that he even reached that class. He would be lost and helpless at the upper class social events that Seto was invited to and would feel left out much too easily. Seto knew that living with Joey would only bring sadness to the happy go lucky young blond and so Seto would stay away from him and never even show him his true feelings. It was easy enough to hide those, since he had practise with showing a poker face and not letting on his emotions, due to his work.

Seto worked till late at night, because the letter kept creeping into his thoughts, stopping him from working to the best of his ability. It wasn't too bad since Seto was one of the most intelligent man in the country and still could get his work done perfectly but everything took him a little bit longer than usually and considering the amount of work he did during an average day, that little bit summed up to be a few hours.

One the next day it was Christmas Eve and Seto would only have to work for a little while. His employees would be home even earlier, to be with their families. On that day there was another letter on his desk that looked just like the two letters from his secret Santa. Seto opened it, trying to stay calm. No matter how likely his assumption that this secret Santa was Joey might be, he still hadn't had the time to try and verify that theory. Once he'd opened the letter, he saw that one little dog treat was in it. Seto placed it at the side, certain by now that he would need to drive to the pound on Christmas to get rid of a poor little pup. Joey probably would be devastated if he did, but he didn't have the time to look after a dog.

Seto slowly unfolded the letter and read it.

'Hey Dragon.

And yes, I still mean it to be an insult because you always think you're the greatest. This is the third and last letter since Christmas is right behind the corner. One more night and you'll see your present, even though I'm sure you little smart ass got it all figured out by now. I bet you even know who I am. In case you don't know what you get, here is a hint, don't eat that doggy treat, you still need it to give a Christmas present to your present. And don't even think about driving to the pound with your present or I'm going to kick your butt into the next century, got it?

And before I forget, dragons really are full of themselves, proud with an ego up in the clods and most people are scared when they see one but they're also powerful and usually pictured to be intelligent and really cool. Just like a Mutt can be protective, loyal and would never give up to protect the one he loves, now matter the odds. So don't forget that everything has two sides. And no matter how scary a dragon can be, no one should be alone on Christmas.

Love,

your secret Santa.'

Seto stared at the letter and wondered if he had been wrong. This was too witty for Joey and it nearly sounded like this person had a strange way of flirting with him. Seto gave a sigh and put the letter away, almost certain that it was only wishful thinking, when he had concluded the author of this letters to be Joey. Joey probably wouldn't care if he was alone at Christmas. But one thing still made Seto believe that it could be Joey after all. In the first letter he had said that with this present Seto might have to stop calling him the names he did, if this was a dog, Seto might call him a mutt instead of that person and in the last letter now there was the talk of a Mutt, too. All the good attributes that Seto admired in the blond were mentioned in the last letter.

But no matter who had written this, Seto didn't need a dog to look after and so he picked up his phone and called Mokuba. Once he hared the voice of his younger brother he smiled a little. He was alone and could allow himself to drop the poker face. And to hear Mokuba's happy voice always made him happy. "Hello Mokuba. How are you?"

"Seto? I'm great but why are you calling?" Mokuba asked surprised. Seto never called, unless he needed to talk about something important. Mokuba knew that Seto was much too busy for a social call and didn't hold it against his older brother.

"I'm just wondering if you can help me avoiding a rather inconvenient situation I might get in tomorrow." Seto started to explain.

It was quiet on the other side for a moment and then Mokuba asked, "How can you get into an inconvenient situation on Christmas day? And most of all, how can I help avoiding it when I'm not even there?"

"I'm getting letters from some secret Santa and if I understood the implications correct, and considering how obvious those were, there is no doubt I did, this person is intending to get me a dog for Christmas." Seto explained the predicament. "And this person does so, because I'll be alone for Christmas, have you talked to anyone about being gone for the holidays?"

"Really?" Mokuba asked excited. "You're getting a dog? What kind of dog? Will it still be a puppy?"

"Mokuba," Seto said, stern to interrupt his brothers pointless questions. "How would I know? I haven't seen the dog yet and I don't even intend to keep the dog."

"Why not?" Mokuba asked.

"Because I don't have the time to mind a dog." Seto explained.

"You raised me big bro and I think you did a great job with that," Mokuba said. "You always found time for me, you could find time for a dog and have a maid looking after him when you can't."

"But you're my brother," Seto said, "I didn't mind raising you, because I love you. But I don't intend to waste my time for a stupid dog."

Seto heard a sigh from the other end of the line and knew that Mokuba wished for a dog, just as much as he had once upon a time. "Why are you acting so cold? I know you always loved dogs and used to want one."

"When I was a child." Seto clarified. "Which I'm not anymore. But since you sound so eager, how about I don't drive the dog to the pound but you have to come back here as soon as you can and then you take the dog?"

"You mean it?" Mokuba asked, "I'm really getting a dog from you?"

"Yeah," Seto said, "That isn't what I had in mind when I called you, but I won't need to fight with this secret Santa to take the dog away again."

"And what did you have in mind?" Mokuba asked.

"That you call around and tell everyone you know that I hate dogs and if anyone dares to give me a puppy, I will drown it." Seto answered.

"You wouldn't." Mokuba said shocked.

"Of course I wouldn't. The press would have a field day with it if that came out, but I would drive the dog to the pound and that would just be inconvenient." Seto said.

"You really did get cold, big brother." Mokuba said and Seto could hear in his brother's voice that he was pouting. "But at least I'll get a dog. I just hope the dog isn't too big. I'm not permitted to have larger pets in my apartment."

"Then start looking for another place," Seto suggested immediately. "Just make sure that I don't need to watch your dog for too long."

"All right," Mokuba said. "But give me a call tomorrow, once you know if I really need a bigger place. As long as it's a chihuahua or such, I'll be fine."

For a moment Seto imagined himself walking around town with a tiny little chihuahua in a little bag, just like Paris Hilton and he shivered. His image would be ruined forever.

* * *

><p>Authors note:<p>

Thanks for reading the first chapter of my Christmas story.

I planned it to be a one shot but it took on a life of it's own. It has 4 chapters now and I'm going to uptade every day till the fourth is out on Christmas day. I hope you're all going to enjoy a sappy little Christmas story.


	2. Chapter 2

**A Christmas miracle part two**

Seto woke up early the next morning and got dressed before walking down to get some breakfast. The house was silent. He had given all his employees the day off and was alone in the huge mansion. He could hear his steps echoing throughout the house and felt strange. It was the first time he was completely alone in the house. Not even security was around, since he had decided that the electronic security would be sufficient and he didn't want anyone to miss out on Christmas with the family. Even the sound of the cornflakes falling into a bowl was strangely loud to him, or the crackle the cornflakes made when he poured the milk over them.

While eating them he thought about his brother and that he used to eat those nearly every morning. Seto preferred pancakes or a proper sandwich with lettuce and tomato. But he was too lazy to make those himself and opted for the cornflakes instead. He did indeed feel more lonely than he would like to admit but he could deal with it for one day. He was old enough and had chosen this life. He had known that Mokuba would grow up and leave the place eventually and might not be home for every holiday, latest when he started his own family. And Seto had chosen to never have a family other than Mokuba, knowing full well that it would leave him alone in the process.

Half way while eating them, he heard a loud bark somewhere in the neighbourhood and just hoped that the doorbell wouldn't ring anytime soon. But this silent prayer wasn't answered. Only a few moments after that the doorbell did ring, but Seto ignored it for now, hoping that whoever was at the front would just leave again. He heard a bark a few more times and waited, hoping for the loud bark to disappear but it didn't. He just heard the doorbell being pressed multiple times and decided to go and answer the door before he would get a major headache.

Once he opened the door, he saw a massive dog in front of him. This one definitely wouldn't go through as a chihuahua. He easily reached up to Seto's hip. At least one good thing about this. This wasn't the kind of dog that made him look like a wimp. The fur had a colour between the light sand on a nice and sunny beach in Spain and the colour of honey. Seto's favourite colour. The fur was shaky, dirty and absolutely messed up, like the dog lived on the street and urgently needed a bath. The dog was tied up with two belts attached to each other and one end tied to a makeshift collar, that was another belt which didn't fit around his neck and was tied around the dog's chest. Seto wondered for a moment if that was even safe, especially since the dog tried to chew through one of the belts until he saw the brunet man in front of him. The dog started to bark a few times and looked like he was about to grin. The moment the dog looked up, Seto saw a letter attached to the collar of the dog and tried to move his hand towards the dog carefully, just in case the monster of a dog would bite. But all the dog did was sniff at Seto's hand and lick it.

'Hey Dragon.

Merry Christmas, you jerk. Please be good to this dog. His name is Mutt, so you can't call me that around him or he'll jump up on you. He always does that when he's called. I trained him to do that, just to annoy you. He loves the kind of treat I gave you yesterday but he also loves chocolate, so be careful he won't steal any from you, since it isn't good for a dog to eat sweets. Oh and he doesn't only like chocolate, he also loves jelly bears and stuff and be careful not to let him get your blue eyes, he already ripped one of my cards. Luckily it wasn't a rare one and I could replace it already.

If you need to know anything else, just call me. You've got to know who I am now.

Love,

your secret Santa.'

Seto stared at it for a moment and then said loudly, "I know you are around, so get your butt over here, you stupid mutt." True to the letter the brute of a dog tried to jump up and lick Seto's face but the leash was too short and pulled the dog back. He wined and tried a few more times.

"How did ya know that I'm here?" Joey's voice came from a bush close to the door and soon after that Seto could see a mop of hair in about the same colour of the dog appearing and soon after that a grinning Joey Wheeler stood there and walked over to him. The dog barked and tried to walk towards Joey, looking happily at the blond. Once Joey was close enough, the dog licked Joey's hands and cuddled against him. "Hey pal, don't worry. That guy just barks but he ain't biting."

"You're the dog here, not me." Seto said, unsure of what he was to make of the letter he had gotten the previous day. Joey actually had complimented him in that one .

"Fine, then let me rephrase it, you growl like a dragon but won't burn and eat him." Joey said, still grinning.

Seto unleashed his worst death glare that terrified most people and had ensured him an unofficial elevator of his own at work. No one used the middle one because Seto always did and no one wanted to accidentally end up in the same elevator as their boss, when he was in one of his bad moods. "I'm not burning him, I'm burning you. How dare you get me a dog? What the hell am I supposed to do with it?"

"Play with him," Joey said and sounded like it should be obvious and without making a face or sounding ironic. "You can cuddle him, too." Joey said in the same matter of fact tone. "Or just take him for a walk. Oh before I forget, he loves chasing after cats, so be careful when taking him on a walk, he might run after them and drag you behind."

For a second Seto had to imagine seeing a picture of him getting dragged behind by a dog in the newspaper and swore to himself to never let that happen. He would rather let go of the leash and let the dog end up in front of a car, then join him under the car. "I don't play, I don't cuddle and I most certainly don't have the time for a walk, so once again, what am I supposed to do with that beast?"

"Love him." Came the reply with the same tone as before. Joey obviously didn't give a damn about the death glare on Seto's face. He was still as oblivious to it as ever.

"And who is going to feed, wash, walk and care for that beast?" Seto asked.

"Easy. Give me a key to your place and I'll stop by every day and do everything that my pal needs." Joey said and Seto stared at him.

"You got to be kidding me," Seto said surprised. "Why should I give you a key to my place? I hate you."

"No, you don't." Joey said. "You love fighting with me just as much as I do and I got bored since we finished high school and this way I can see you and fight with you again."

This matter of fact tone, like he was pointing out the most obvious things started to really get on Seto's nerves. But what annoyed him the most was that Joey had noticed his love for their fights. "You're making a fool out of yourself like always, you stupid mutt and now get the hell away and stop wasting my time."

"Fine. See ya around then and have fun with your new doggy." Joey said and was about to turn.

"I meant, leave with the dog." Seto said. He could get Mokuba a proper dog. Who knew if this street dog was even save. He might attack his little brother at any moment.

"No can do." Joey said, "I don't have a place where I can keep a dog."

"Then get one." Seto suggested.

"Don't have the money for that." Joey informed him.

"Then why did you get a dog for me? You must have at least known that I might not want it," Seto said. "Even you can't be stupid enough to believe I'd actually love to have a dog."

"Actually I did think you would." Joey said. "You use dog names so often that I thought you must think about dogs a lot, but to be honest, I gave him to you because you're the only one that can have a dog and I needed to find a place for my pal, after he started to follow me around all the time. And I can't let him live on the street, it's winter and it's freezing out there." Joey said.

"So, you're simply trying to get me to take care of your dog and even dare to call that a present?" Seto asked, feeling a headache coming.

"Sort of, yeah." Joey said, grinning like always. "But I also thought that you could use the company. I mean, aren't ya lonely?"

"No, I'm not." Seto said immediately.

"Are ya sure?" Joey asked. "Because I would be lonely if I had to be all alone at Christmas."

"Well, I'm not." Seto said. "And now take that beast and get the hell away."

"No can do." Joey said, "I told ya he can't go anywhere else, so please Seto, have a heart."

"Well I don't have one and now beat it." Seto said, still giving Joey his worst death glare.

"That's a lie. You've been so nice to your little brother, that proves that you have a heart and I know that you like me too, even if just a little." Joey said. "So please, let Mutt stay." Seto watched as Mutt jumped up on Joey and Joey put his arms around the huge dog next to him and patted his head saying, "Good boy." His smile made Seto feel compiled to take the dog in but he still didn't have the time and allowing Joey to come and go might not be the best idea, considering that he's secretly in love with the blond.

"Fine," Seto said, "He can stay for now but only because Mokuba wants a dog and can take him in, once he has another place."

"But then I can't see my pal!" Joey said, shocked and disappointed.

"You aren't going to see him here either." Seto said.

"But who is going to take care of him?" Joey asked.

"A maid." Seto stated dryly.

"But he likes me," Joey said with a pout. "Please, at least till Mokuba comes to take him away."

"Why are you doing this?" Seto asked, "I really thought you'd be glad to see the last of me at graduation."

"Why would I?" Joey asked, "We're pals."

"I can't recall us to be in any sort of friendly relationship, Mutt." Seto said and this time he was to close to the dog and Mutt jumped up on him, nearly pushing him to the ground. "Get down, you stupid dog."

"Come here, Mutt." Joey said and the dog jumped up on Joey next, earning himself a pet and a "Good boy" from the blond. Seto watched the blond cuddle the dog for a moment and noticed for the first time that their eyes had nearly the same shade of brown, too. It looked sort of cute to watch them and Seto could feel the urge to let Joey stay, just to watch them like that more often but he didn't want to get weak and start to flirt with the blond.

Joey noticed that Seto watched him silently for a while and then smiled at him and said, "I know you don't like to show it, but I know that you sort of like me and the rest of the gang, so don't be so stubborn. Just let me look after Mutt while he's staying here."

"You're the stubborn one here." Seto mumbled and looked at Joey for a moment longer, at his warm and caring smile. It would be nice to have him around for a while but Seto was sure that it would hurt to lose that again. It already had hurt at graduation, to know that he might never see him again. He avoided him ever since to make sure Joey wouldn't get any wrong ideas.

"Please Seto, let him stay and let me stop by and look out for him sometimes." Joey begged and looked at Seto with puppy eyes that surprised Seto, he hadn't known that Joey could look like this and he hadn't known that it would have such a strong effect on him. Seto felt the urge to hug the blond and fulfill all his wishes.

"No way in hell." Seto said instead.

"Fine." Joey said and looked sad. "Then I'll go back to Yug's place. If you need to know anything, you can give me a call there."

"Yugi's?" Seto asked surprised. He had known that Mokuba was still in touch with the gang and intended to make sure that Joey would be already over that link. He was sure that Mokuba would say something, if Joey was in any sort of huge trouble.

"I don't exactly have another place to stay at the moment." Joey confessed with a slight blush.

"Why not?" Seto asked surprised.

Joey smiled at him for a moment and surprised Seto with what he said, "I can't afford it, because I lost my job shortly after dad died last summer. I was on the streets for a while and met my little pal here. But when it got cold, I went to Yugi's one night. But Mutt chewed on some of the toys there and Yugi banned him. So I left with him."

"You did what?" Seto asked, outraged that Joey would go back onto the street, just to be with that stupid beast of a dog but even more outraged that Yugi let him.

"I went back onto the street with Mutt." Joey said and cuddled the dog again. "And considering how loud you just got, I should warn you, Mutt gets cranky when someone is mean to me."

"How can anyone be so stupid?" Seto asked. "And how could Yugi let you go?"

"He didn't." Joey said. "In fact he hardly saw me ever since. I sometimes step by and have a hot chocolate or something but I sneak off at some point to go back to my pal here."

"You're a fool. The dog will be fine without you running around after him." Seto said. "And how did you get the money for the dog tag you got for that beast?"

"Maybe he'd be fine, but I'd miss him." Joey said, "And I got it from the money I borrowed from Yugi. So can I take care of him now or what?"

"Fine." Seto said. "But you'll stay here and take care of that monster 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, till Mokuba picks him up."

"And then?" Joey asked and smiled at the brunet.

"Then Mokuba will take care of that beast and you'll let Yugi take care of you, Mutt. And you stay down." Seto looked as scary towards the dog as he could after calling Joey a Mutt but it didn't help. The dog still jumped up and tried to lick Seto's face. The dog was just as oblivious to his death glare as Joey.

"Thanks." Joey said and smiled at Seto. "I knew you like me."

"I don't." Seto said.

"Then why do you care that I'm living on the street?" Joey asked with a grin.

"I don't." Seto said and was glad that he had learned not to blush easily because otherwise he would. "I'm just worried that Mokuba will be mad at me if I let anything happen to you."

"Why should he? He didn't even tell you that I'm on the streets."

"He knew?" Seto asked, outraged that Mokuba knew and didn't tell him.

"Sure." Joey said with a shrug. "Yugi told me that if I really needed help, I should let him know because Mokuba had promised to get on your nerves till you would help me. But I told him not to bother, since I was sure you would help me if I stood in front for your door and annoy the hell out of you myself. The next time I saw Yugi, he told me that Mokuba was begging me not to try that because it would make it harder for him to beg you to help me and that you would never help me without his help."

Seto stared at Joey for a moment. "I thought I'm the one that's supposed to be full of himself and not you."

"I still won." Joey said, "You do like me."

"Just shut your hole." Seto said and groaned. How could Joey have been so sure? How had he noticed that he liked him at least a little? At least Joey hadn't noticed how deep those feelings were, well, at least not yet.

"Make me." Joey said with a grin and Seto gave a sigh. The next couple of weeks would be very exhausting and he just hoped that Mokuba would find a new place really fast. Seto already got out his phone to send Mokuba a message. It isn't a chihuahua. And it most certainly isn't a small little puppy. It's a huge Mutt from the street. Get him before the year ends, or he's at the pound. Mokuba had enough finances to find a new place fast, as long as he really tried to find it. After that Seto walked back to the kitchen in silence. He gave up on arguing the topic of liking or disliking Joey with the blond himself. It seemed wiser to give in than risk letting Joey find out how deep that liking went. This time it wasn't only his steps that Seto heard echoing throughout the mansion. He heard Joey's steps right after himself and listened to those closely. Once Seto was in the kitchen, he silently ate the rest of his cornflakes, that by now were all soaked up and mushy. He hated them mushy but it would be a waste to just throw them out.

"Oh great, my favourites." Joey said and looked around the kitchen. "Where are ya hiding them?" He mumbled, just before he found them. Seto watched silently while Joey continued his search, now looking for a bowl and a spoon. But he didn't stop talking for a second. "Hey moneybags, what are you doing today? I thought we could both go out and do something together. Maybe visit Yug? But then again that might be smarter to do tomorrow. He and the gang are meeting up tomorrow afternoon and I already told them that I'd be inviting you, too. Yug is excited already. Tristan is betting with Téa and me and they both bet that you aren't coming, so you have to come then or I'l have to give each of them 10 bucks that I ain't having."

"I'll give you 20 if you shut your mouth." Seto mumbled.

"Make that a 100 and I'll start thinking about it." Joey said with a grin. "Hey, where's your Christmas tree?"

"I don't have one." Seto said. "I didn't have time to waste to get one and I don't see a reason to have one either."

"Great, then we can go out together and get one today." Joey said. "I love decorating Christmas trees and I didn't get to do it last year."

"And what makes you believe I care about what you want?" Seto asked. He wanted to be annoyed by Joey's constant chatting, but after feeling so lonely earlier on, he was actually grateful for his cheerful chatting.

"Because you're smiling," Joey said and Seto froze. He hadn't noticed it but he really had started to smile a little, just like he always had smiled when Mokuba was especially cheerful and annoyingly chatty when he was a kid. "By the way, I couldn't decorate one yet obviously and last Christmas dad was in the hospital, so I was there most of the time and spending all my money on the bills and nothing was left for a tree and I was really upset but there was a great looking one in the hospital, so I had Christmas there with Dad. But now I can do it with you. So where do you want to buy the tree?"

"Nowhere." Seto said, trying to sound annoyed.

"Great idea." Joey said to Seto's surprise. At least he was surprised until Joey continued to talk. "We can go out into the country to a forest and get a tree there, that is so much more fun like in the good old days. What sort of decorations do ya have?"

"I don't have any." Seto said.

"You must have some, the shops are closed today and anyway I bet you had a tree with Mokuba around and must have some things from back then." Joey said.

"I threw it out." Seto said, "Mokuba and I used to buy new tinsel every year."

"Oh well, I'll find something to put on, once we got the tree here. Let's go and get one right after finishing our breakfast." Joey said still cheerful.

"You're annoying." Seto said, fighting the smile that was threatening to find his way back onto his face.

"I know." Joey said. "But I also know that you like it."

"And what gives you that ridiculous illusion?" Seto asked.

"I just know." Joey said, "And anyway, you would have thrown me out if it was annoying you too badly."

Seto gave a sigh and asked, "Is there anyway to shout you up?"

"Sure but ya ain't gonna like that one." Joey said with a grin.

"I'll do anything." Seto said "As long as it makes you shut up."

"Then figure it out," Joey said. "Now, are you done with your breakfast? I want to get my tree."

* * *

><p>Authors note:<p>

Thanks to LovelyRose5001, Nagareboshi-Lover, Silverclaw the Destined, dancing elf, kluna, .Lover and Angel Dove1 for the reviews.

And now honestly who of you thought Joey would BE the present? If I understood your reviews right some fo you did. But as you see he wasn't. But in the net chapter Joey is going to get a tree with Seto. Also who of you knows what Seto will have to do to make Joey shut up?


	3. Chapter 3

**A Christmas miracle part three**

Seto was standing in the cold snow, in a forest far outside of Domino. It was past midday and on the road he had a sandwich, made by Joey for lunch. Joey was chatting all the time about things that happened on past Christmas days to him, his friends or his dad. Seto hadn't managed to keep the smile from his face during the whole morning but whenever he thought about it, he made it disappear again. He had to admit that it was nice to go out and look for 'the perfect tree' as Joey called it, even though Seto was starting to get the feeling that Joey was much too picky. But now Joey started to chop down a small but full tree. Joey had decided that a small tree would be better, considering that they didn't have any decorations yet but Joey already had an idea on how to fix that. But so far that was the one thing he refused to tell Seto. He said it was a surprise and Seto feared that he didn't want to find out what this mutt had gotten in his head now.

Seto watched him and slowly started to freeze. "How much longer is this going to take you?" He asked, now really getting upset. "It's cold."

Joey looked at him for a moment but smiled. "Then get some warm thoughts."

"I doubt that just thinking about a fire or something will stop me from freezing to death." Seto said.

"I wasn't talking about a fire." Joey said with a grin. "I was talking about sex."

Seto could feel his face get warmer at that notion from the wild untameable blond guy and was mad at himself for blushing for the first time in ages. "Get your mind out of the gutter," Seto simply said.

"Why? It's nice and toasty in there." Joey said with a grin but managed to finally get his work done. The tree fell and Joey grabbed the bottom and said, "Finished, let's get back to the car.

"Finally." Seto said, now really getting slightly annoyed. He was freezing, he had blushed and Joey was making fun of him. That was way too much for his pride.

Once they had reached the car, Seto helped Joey to put the tree into the car. "Do ya want me to drive?" Joey asked.

"Sure, I'll let you drive my expensive car," Seto said ironically. "Once hell freezes over."

"Considering that I'm staying with you and you're freezing, some people might argue that hell did freeze over." Joey said with a grin. "And anyway, you could cuddle into a blanket and warm yourself up."

"I don't have a blanket." Seto said and walked over to the drivers door.

"You could cuddle into my coat," Joey suggested, "I don't freeze easily."

"I'm fine, just get into the damn car or I'll drive back without you." Seto said and got into the car immediately turning up the heat.

Joey was quiet for a moment and Seto started to wonder why but didn't dare to ask. Joey might think that he worried about him. But Seto looked towards the blond every now and then and was surprised to see him smiling out of the window peacefully. But even though Joey had stopped talking for the moment it wasn't really quiet in the car. Seto could clearly hear the blond breathe in and out and listened to it. It was calming and his anger and annoyance was soon gone. It didn't even return when the breathing changed into a silent snore and Seto looked over to see the blond's eyes closed. Seto wondered how well or rather bad Joey's past couple of nights must have been. Snow was covering the ground and it was freezing for days. Joey said that he didn't freeze easily but Seto wondered if it had always been that way or if he had just grown accustomed to be cold and didn't mind it so much anymore. He must have gotten cold, too. Seto moved one hand over to Joey's hand and touched it gently, his fingers were a little cold but not too bad. Actually they were warmer than Seto's.

Seto moved his hand over Joey's forehead to check if he might have a fever that prevented him from feeling the cold. But Seto wasn't sure if he felt hot because Joey had a fever or if his own hands were just so cold. But he decided to keep a close eye on him. "I knew you'd care." Joey said with a smile and moved a little in his seat. His eyes stayed closed and Seto wondered if he was just talking in his sleep.

Joey's eyes stayed closed till they reached the mansion. Once there, Seto gently punched the blond against his shoulder and said, "Wake up already, we're finally back."

Joey opened his eyes and walked inside with Seto, pulling the tree behind him, leaving a tray of pine needles and causing Seto to groan. His stuff was at home, meaning he would be the one who had to clean it. He would bet all he had that Joey wouldn't even think about it.

"Where is a stand for the tree?" Joey asked.

"Don't have one." Seto said.

"What?" Joey asked. "You must have one from the other years."

"Broken and binned." Seto simply said.

"Okay, I'll think something up." Joey said with a groan and added in a mumble, "And here I thought you're a dragon or a devil. But you are the Grinch." After that he added a little louder, "Where is a broom to clean up the mess?"

Seto looked at him in surprise but then told him where to find it. A little while later Seto sat in front of his laptop and got some work done, while Joey cleaned up the needles. After that it was quiet for a while and Seto waited a little before looking for Joey. Part of him feared that he might break something but a bigger part worried that he might have done the same that he had done with Yugi and that he'd run off on him. But Joey was in the garden, getting some sand in a bucket. It looked like really hard work because the ground was frozen but Joey looked happy. He was sweating and Seto concluded that he probably didn't feel the cold because he was working all the time. First chopping down the tree and now getting some sand for some unknown reason. Half an hour later Seto knew why Joey had done that. The tree stood in a bucked with sand and Joey had taken some paper and after folding every one multiple times in half, he cut some of the paper off and unfolded them again. It looked like a star or a snowflake and Seto was slightly impressed that he had folded and cut it, just the right way to make it look like snowflakes and stars. He then placed all of them onto the tree. "How did you get that idea?" Seto asked, slightly impressed.

"Dad and I used to do it like this every year." Joey said. "We never had the money to buy decorations, so we made them ourselves. When I was a kid I would colour them too, but now I like it better this way. Do you at least have some candles from last year?"

"I'll get them." Seto said and did just that. He even helped attaching the electrical lights but allowed Joey to turn it on. It looked sort of good with the white decoration and the lights. Seto walked away for a moment again and got the star that he and Mokuba used to put on the tree every year. It was the only thing that they used every year, apart from the light and usually the stand for the tree. "Here," Seto said, once he was back. "If you want you can put that on, too."

"Really?" Joey asked. "That one looks great but don't you want to put on the star on the top?"

"I don't care about having a Christmas tree, so you do it." Seto said and saw a smile spreading on Joey's face.

"You're the best." Joey said and gave Seto a hug. Much to the surprise of the cold brunet.

"Leave me alone, you mutt." Seto said, fighting a blush and forgetting about the dog that had been in front of the fireplace during the whole time. But after hearing Seto saying "Mutt" he ran to him and jumped up on him. "Get down, you stupid beast." Seto said and tried to push the dog away, while Joey laughed and put the star on top of the tree.

"I told ya that ya can't call me that again in the letter, didn't I?" Joey said with a grin on his face, while Seto got the dog to get off of him and slowly walk back to the fireplace and lay down there again.

"Fine," Seto said, "then I'll call you moron."

"Moneybags," Joey said grinning.

"Idiot." Seto simply said, hoping to prove to Joey that he didn't like him.

"Jerk." Joey said, starting to look like he always did when they fought. The fire in his eyes came and the grin slowly disappeared, while Joey obviously already thought about further insults, knowing that Seto would have some.

"Dog" Seto said, proving the fact that he had plenty of insults and didn't need to resort to Mutt.

"Egomaniac" Joey said, surprising Seto.

"Third rate duellist." Seto said, knowing that this usually sent Joey over the edge. He hated that one just as much as mutt, maybe even more.

"Shout your mouth or I'm going to shut it for ya." Joey nearly screamed and lifted his fists slightly. It was so easy to get Joey to fight with him. To Seto's surprise it seemed even easier than usual and the fire in the blonds eyes was even stronger than usual, like he too was getting excited about having this fight.

"And how do you intend to manage that? You're stupid and weak." Seto asked.

"Like this, you moron." Joey said. Seto was sure that he would try to punch him and once Joey's arms moved, he grabbed his right wrist. Joey was so predictable, he always tried to punch him with his right, because he was right-handed. But what Seto didn't expect was that Joey moved both arms and didn't punch him. His right hand was held by Seto but before Seto knew what Joey was doing, the blond's left hand grabbed him at the collar of his white coat and pulled him towards himself. Right after that Seto could feel the blond's lips on his own. Seto was too stunned to do anything but he felt Joey's lips moving over his own and his arms moving around his neck. Soon Seto's lips parted automatically. For once he didn't think, he just acted. The feeling of Joey's lips and his hands that started to play in his hair was all he could think of. And soon Seto's arms were around Joey's waist, moving slowly under his shirt and explored his warm skin.

Not long after that Seto felt Joey's hand moving under his coat and pushing it down his shoulders. A part of Seto's brain started to work again and he knew that if this continued it would go much too far. "Joey, stop." He mumbled and let go of him, trying to get his coat back in place.

But Joey pressed himself closer to Seto and mumbled, "Just shut your hole and kiss me, you stupid moron."

"I can't." Seto mumbled and once again tried to gently press Joey away.

"Don't." Joey mumbled. "Don't think about everything, at least this once."

Seto looked into the blond's eyes for a moment and then pulled him back and kissed him again. _Just this once. _He thought and wanted to enjoy this, just this one night and then he would make sure that Joey would get a place of his own and a new job. He would make sure that Joey would have a happy life but just this once he wanted to know what it was like to be with the man he loved. Just for this one night he would enjoy being selfish. He gently lifted him a little and started to move towards his bedroom with him. He felt Joey's leg moving around his hip, while he walked and could feel Joey's nearly fully formed erection against his own and moaned a little.

He knew that it was wrong to use whatever it was that had gotten into Joey and made him act like this, but he couldn't stop anymore and he didn't want to stop either. He enjoyed it too much to stop. Once they were in Seto's room and on his big king size bed, Seto looked into the honey eyes of the blond and thought about how talented Joey's wild lips had been and wondered how many guys he'd already had. He must do this more often to even sleep with him after all the fights they had. For a moment Seto wondered what he should do next and if this really was a good idea. He never had sex with a guy before. No man had been worth risking his reputation so far. Seto saw Joey starting to smile and felt his hand moving in his hair again, before hearing Joey whisper, "Didn't I tell ya not to think about everything? Just kiss me again, would ya." And then he pulled Seto down, making him forget all his worries and causing Seto to really stop thinking and he started to just act on impulse and on what his body told him to do. And he longed for the blond for so long that it didn't take long until both of them were undressed.

* * *

><p>Authors note:<p>

Thanks to MelodiousBloodshed, .Lover, Kluna, Angel Dove1, Silverclaw the Destined, Twilight684 and Nagareboshi-Lover for the reviews.

I'm really happy that I get that many if you guys keep it up I might make another chapter for this story. Alse becasue everyone thinks that if Seto kisses Joey it would shut him up. I guess I have to add a fifth chapter to prove you all wrong. That kissing idea might work for a dragon (as shown in this chapter) but not for a Mutt. But I bet Seto will find a much better way. So if you want to find out how to shut up a Mutt you have to read this story to the end :P


	4. Chapter 4

**A Christmas miracle part four**

On the second Christmas day Seto woke up with a sleeping blond man in his arms and both of them were naked. Seto watched him for a while, wishing he could hold him in his arms for eternity. He wanted to at least remember this moment forever. The feeling of Joey's warm naked skin on his own, the smell of his messy hair, the sound of his even and quiet snore and the picture of Joey's sleeping form with the morning sun touching his hair, turning the messy mop into gold. After trying to memorize it all, Seto slowly moved out of the embrace and stood up to have a shower.

He thought about what he should do now. How he should behave towards Joey now that they had sex with each other. It would probably change everything. But once more Seto wondered how often Joey had done it so far. His lips were so talented and his hands seemed to know exactly where Seto had wanted to be touched, too. The pure thought of the previous night drove him crazy and forced Seto to turn the temperature of the water down by a lot. After he was done with the shower, he got dressed and walked down to the living room where the tree stood and got in front of his laptop to distract himself with work.

It took two hours before Joey came down and gave him a slight slap on the back of his head. "The bed got cold, you jerk." Joey simply said. "Anyway, I'm gonna grab a bite to eat."

After that he was gone for a moment but then returned with a bowl of cornflakes. Seto couldn't eat right now. He tried to focus on his work to stop his thoughts of what Joey might think about the previous night and what he might do next. It made it hart to concentrat on work. Joey talked without a break about random unimportant things, like movies that he liked. After a while he suddenly said, "By the way we have to be at Yug's at three." And then he started to talk about some musician.

"I'm not going," Seto interrupted. "I'm busy."

"You have to come." Joey said, "I told ya that I've got to pay up 20 bucks that I don't have if ya don't come."

"And I told you that you'd get 20 bucks if you shout up but you didn't, so deal with it." Seto said, pretending like nothing was going on at all. Joey seemed to do the same, so he thought it to be the safest thing to go along with it.

"Sure I didn't." Joey said. "If I did you'd never come to Yug's to help me out."

Seto grabbed his wallet and got 20 bucks out before handing them over to Joey. "There you go, now run along, you stupid mutt." Seto groaned after finding the huge dog jumping up on himself and trying to lick his face again. "Get away from me, you stupid dog."

"Hey don't call my new dog stupid." Another voice said from the direction of the door and Joey and Seto turned around to look and saw Mokuba standing in the doorway. "Hey big brother, I was curious about my dog and decided to have a very long daytrip. My girlfriend can deal with me gone for a day, I guess."

"Merry Christmas little brother." Seto said with a smile towards his brother, happy to see.

"What's the dog's name?" Mokuba asked. "Oh and hey Joey, what are you doing here?"

"I gave Seto the dog and promised to mind him till ya take my baby away." Joey said with a grin.

"So this is the dog that chewed on Yugi's duel monster card?" Mokuba asked.

"Yeah but I really don't get why he freaked, I got him a new dark magician girl and it cost me a fortune." Joey said.

"You know how he is with his cards." Mokuba said. "What would you have done if Mutt chewed on your red eye?" Mokuba asked and patted the dog when he jumped up. Mokuba had heard a lot about this dog from Yugi over the phone.

"I probably would kill him," Joey said with a grin. "But I really would miss my pal if ya go away with him. Can't I come along?"

"Sure, I bet we would have lots of fun." Mokuba said, happy that it would also get Joey off the street. He had thought about a way to help the blond for a while.

"Great, then I'm rid of you, too." Seto said, suddenly upset and took his laptop and left the room not even looking at Mokuba again.

"What's wrong with him?" Mokuba asked surprised. It wasn't the first time he saw his brother this mad, nor the first time that he let it out on him too but it was rare and usually Seto was really upset about something and didn't want to admit it if he acted like this. Mokuba knew that even though no one believed him, his brother was probably the most unselfish person in the world. Everyone just saw the rich guy that screamed at his employees and fired them if they messed things up. But Seto had always put his little brother first and done a lot to give him what he wanted and keep as much hardship away from Mokuba as he could. The younger Kaiba knew that Seto would always put himself after the persons he liked and was sure that he was hiding a lot of pain to make sure Mokuba wouldn't worry about him. And he understood that at times it was just getting to much even for his strong brother to handle all by himself. And so Mokuba was never mad at Seto when he let it out on him on those rare occations.

"I think I know." Joey said and looked after Seto, "And I think I need to teach that smart ass brother ya got there a thing or two. I'll be back in a sec."

Joey walked after Seto, not knowing that Mokuba was curious about what was going on between those two and worried that Joey might make things worth rather tehn help and followed him secretly. Once Joey had found Seto, he walked over to him and said, "Just to let ya know, when I joke about leaving, you're supposed to say 'I ain't letting ya go.'"

"Do what you want." Seto said still upset and didn't even look at him. "I'm hardly in any position to stop you from staying with your precious dog."

"Don't tell me that ya jealous of my dog?" Joey said, sounding amused. "I don't wanna go away from ya. Not to Mokuba and not to Yug's place either."

"But you should." Seto said, "And I don't want you here. I never wanted you here."

"That wasn't my impression last night." Joey said. "So tell me, why are ya so cold to me all of a sudden?"

"Newsflash, I never liked you." Seto said to make Joey leave. He knew that it was the best for Joey. Mokuba had gotten kidnapped so often just to get money out of Seto or force him to do or not do something. If Joey stayed, he would get a lot of public attention and not all of that would be kind, especially considering how Joey's life was so far. He would only get hurt if he stayed.

Seto looked at his laptop. He didn't want to have to look into Joey's eyes while telling him to leave. He would be too tempted to tell him to stay. But it didn't work, Joey just climbed on Seto's lap, ignoring the look on Seto's face or the fact that he was interrupting his work with that and then he put one hand into Seto's hair at his neck and whispered, "Does that feel like I don't like you?" After that one of his hands moved down Seto's chest, "Or does that?" he whispered, leaning closer before whispering "Or this." And then Joey's lips touched Seto's. Seto fought with his hands to stop them from sliding around Joey's waist and stopped his lips from giving into the kiss but Joey still whispered "I know that you care for me, because even though you fight it I can feel that you liked the kiss. I can feel your heartbeat and hear your breathing and I felt the softness of your touches last night. So tell me why are you trying to make me leave when it will only hurt you?"

"You're wrong," Seto said and looked at Joey with his death glare, happy that his poker face was so practised that he could still use that look. "I don't care. I just wanted sex, I just wanted to have some fun. I only used you."

"Yeah right and I'm Santa. And now the truth, because I ain't leaving till ya tell me why." Joey said and kept moving one hand over Seto's chest, while the other played with Seto's hair. He could feel that Seto was still restraining himself and moved his hip closer to Seto's, earning himself a groan and breaking through his restrain as well. Seto's arms were around Joey's waist in less than a second, holding him close and his head rested on Joey's shoulder. "And now Seto, tell me what you really want."

Seto gave a sigh and mumbled, "I don't want to hurt you. But you will get hurt if you stay. Just like Mokuba did, you should know that I'm just grumpy all the time and I even got mad at him for rubbish at times and was mean to him and I don't even get why he still likes me. And on top of that, the press will have a field day with you and rip you apart and all those business stuff I need to attend, you'll hate it but I can hardly leave you out and leave you here all alone. You'll only get hurt with me, like everyone will." He felt weak for even telling Joey this but it also felt good to tell his worries to someone for the first time. He hadn't had anyone to talk to like this since his parents sudden death. He used to talk to his mother but ever since he lost them, he had to be strong and protect Mokuba and work hard to build up a good life for him and get him everything he needed he had to make his little brother happy. He had to be for Mokuba, what his mother and father used to be for him and in return had no one to turn to and talk to about his own problems. He hardly could bother his kid brother with his problems.

"If you don't want to hurt me, then let me stay." Joey whispered, after giving Seto a moment to sort out his emotions a little. "I don't care about the press, so they can't hurt me. I don't think that I'll regret it once I see how cruel they can be, I already know that they think that I only try to take you for your money and that I might be a druggie like my dad and so on. But I don't give a damn, as long as you know that I don't give crap about your money because I want you for who you are. And about the business stuff, I'm not a kid so don't worry I don't give a crap about them and don't wanna go and I ain't gonna burn down the house, so just go there but let me be with ya when ya got the time. I really like ya, so let me be there for ya just as much as ya want to be there for me. Just give this a shot, that's all I'm asking."

It was quiet for a while and Mokuba, who stood just outside of the room and had heard every word, almost held his breath in the hope that Seto would finally say something and get together with Joey. All he wanted for his older brother, was to finally find the happiness he deserved. "Does that mean you're going to stop the insults?" Seto finally asked and Mokuba was glad to hear the softness of his voice while he said that.

Joey smiled at Seto, happy to see a smile on his dragon's face and said, "Never. And now let's practise this once more. I wanna stay with my dog. So what are ya gonna say to that?"

"Then I'll have to get Mokuba another dog, because you're not going anywhere." Seto said and pulled Joey closer to himself.

"Good boy." Joey said with a chuckle.

"Hey," Seto said, "You're the mutt here."

But he soon regretted that he had called Joey a mutt, because the dog Mutt hadn't liked it that everyone had left him alone in the living room and followed Mokuba into hearing range of the two guys and now he ran towards Seto to jump up on him. "I hate that dog." Seto screamed and Joey just laughed.

"Congratulations guys." Mokuba said after a while, standing in the door. "I never thought to see you two get together but I'm happy for you both. But I still want a dog."

"You'll get your dog." Seto said. "You can even have this stupid beast, I'll just tie Joey to the bed to make him stay."

"No way," Joey said. "You said I can keep him. You can't take him away from me now."

"You gave him to me and I also promised him to Mokuba." Seto pointed out. "I can hardly take him back from my kid brother. And that just now was a practise run, you said so yourself so deal with it, that annoying jumping beast is going. I want to be able to call you Mutt without getting jumped at." He said, while fighting off the dog that wanted to jump up on him again.

"Oh well," Joey said, "As long as I get to stay with you, I don't mind. And I can't wait to tell Tristan that I got the Christmas present that I wanted from ya."

"What present?" Seto asked. "I didn't have anything for you."

"Sure ya did." Joey said "Ya giving me a chance, that's all I wanted. And ya coming with me to Yugi's. That's an order."

"I don't take orders." Seto said with a smile "But I guess that my brother will like to join you and I have to admit that the thought of Tristan's reaction to that news might get interesting."

* * *

><p>Authors note:<p>

Merry Christmas to all of you.

Thanks to MelodiousBloodshed, Nagareboshi-Lover, .Lover, Twilight684 and Angel Dove1 for the reviews.

Next chapter you'll find out what the others will say when they find out about Joey and Seto. And you fially find out how to shut up Joey. And you also find out why a kiss isn't going to cut it.


	5. Chapter 5

**A Christmas miracle part five.**

"You think Joey will really show up today?" Yugi asked, looking out of the windows of his living room and onto the street. He felt guilty for not allowing Mutt to stay. He knew that if he gave in, Joey would stay too.

"Of course, why shouldn't he?" Téa asked. "I mean, he said he would the last time he was here and left with some money. I mean, I never thought he would get bold enough to steal money and just leaving behind a note, promising to pay you back."

"He just borrowed it and knew that I wouldn't give it in the hope that he'd stay instead." Yugi said.

"I know." Téa said and looked worried towards Yugi. "Hey, don't look so down. Joey is going to show up today. I mean he's a tough guy and I'm sure that he'll show up when it gets too cold for him or he gets too hungry. You know how Joey is, his stomach rules his actions ever since I know the guy."

"Yeah." Yugi said and continued to look outside. "But it's five past three and he's still not here. What if something happened to him? I should have let the dog stay."

"You can't, Yugi." Tristan said "And Joey needs to smarten up and stay here without the dog. He can't force you to keep the dog by running off if you don't. I mean, I doubt he's even thinking that far but still you can't let a dog say. That huge beast was in this house for a grand total of one hour and absolutely trashed the shop, using most of the goods as chew toys. It cost you a fortune. And don't forget what happened to your card card."

"Joey replaced it." Yugi said to defend his friend. "I just wonder what he had to do to manage that."

It was quiet for a while. All three worried for their friend, that had lost his home last summer and not even bothered to tell them till they noticed that he never got changed. He stopped by now at one of their places but never for long. Just for a good bath and some food. Sometimes he stayed for a night but most of the time he was gone before the night started, latest by the time they got up. Even Mokuba was calling once a week to ask if Joey was still alright and if he should talk to Seto, but Joey didn't want that. All of them understood that, even Mokuba, Joey and Seto had never gotten along and hated each other and it was probably too much to ask of Joey to let Seto help him now. But he even refused to let Mokuba help him and said ridiculous things like, "Seto would help me, as long as I annoy him enough, he loves it when I do that."

All three had decided that Joey was either being ironic and meant that Seto wouldn't even help him if Mokuba would insist or he had absolutely lost his mind.

"You aren't going to make him pay if he looses that bet, are you?" Yugi asked and looked towards Tristan and Téa for a moment. Wondering if Joey didn't show up, because he didn't have the money. Joey had 'borrowed' 20 bucks from him, he can't pay him back if Seto isn't coming and even Joey didn't really believe that Seto Kaiba will ever come to his Christmas party.

"What do you mean with if? He lost that bet the second he made it. But of course we won't make him pay." Téa said.

"Like he even could if we did." Tristan said with a smile. "But I'm thinking about forcing him to stay at my place for a week and do the dishes. That would get him off the street and he would feel like he had to do it just to pay off his dept. We should all try to make him stay for a week, after all he owes us all some money, now that he can't get Kaiba to show up."

"You think Joey lost it? I mean to even make that bet is crazy." Téa asked sort of worried. "I mean, we all know that Kaiba is nevert going to come."

"Maybe he will." Yugi said with a slight blush. He didn't have much hope either but he always had wanted to befriend the cold CEO, certain that he could use some friends. Yug still remembered how lonely he sometimes was before he met his darker half Yami and befriended Joey and Tristan soon after that. He was bullied in school and always alone. Seto might not be completely alone and no one dared to bully him in school, but a lot of people were jealous of his power and money and might try to take it, if Seto didn't mind what he did. The others didn't understand it though. Tristan and Téa have never been as alone as Yugi was but he had a feeling that Joey did understand. He had sort of lost his mother and sister, not as permanent as Seto had lost his parents but Joey must understand how it was to be an older brother and not to have much support from his parents. Maybe that was the reason he tried to bring Seto and made that bet to motivate himself further. He just hoped he succeeded for Seto as well as for Joey, who could really use that money from Téa and Tristan. Even though forcing him to stay and work was a good idea too.

Yugi looked out once more, surprised to see a huge limousine stopped just outside of the building "Come over and look at this" Yugi said and stared outside, while both of his friends raised from their places to see what had caused the outburst. "Kaiba's limousine just arrived." Yugi added before they even made it to the window.

"Impossible," Tristan said, before he reached the window to press his nose against the glass. "Ha, it's just because Mokuba came after all." He added after Mokuba got out of the car. They watched Mokuba staying there and waiting. It took some time in which Mokuba looked up and noticed them standing at the window. He waved up and looked back into the car, saying something no one understood.

"Someone must be with him." Téa said surprised. She stood behind Yugi and Tristan, who had been faster to reach the window, and looked between their heads to see what was going on. "Maybe he met Joey. I wonder if he came to talk Seto into helping Joey after all."

And indeed Joey was the next one to climb out of the vehicle. But he was followed by no other than Seto Kaiba himself right away. Joey looked up and waved too, while Kaiba simply glared up for a second before he said something which must have gotten the others to walk to the door. "I'll go, let them in." Yugi said quickly and left.

"I can't believe it." Tristan said. "He really won that bet."

"I know." Téa said just as surprised "I was so sure I'd win that one. But it's just his luck that Mokuba showed up after all and Seto probably just wanted to spend as much time with his brother as he can and only came because Mokuba wanted to come."

"Yeah, you're right." Tristan said. "I really don't get how he managed to end up on the street with that kind of luck on his side."

A little later Mokuba walked inside of the room, followed by Yugi and then Joey and Seto right on their heals. "Sit down guys. I'm so happy you all came." Yugi said cheerfully. "How comes that you're here Mokuba? I thought you'd be with that girlfriend of yours."

"Yeah, I was staying over at her place and being with her parents for this holidays. We had decided to split it between our relatives and come here every second year and be with her parents every other one. But Seto told me that I'd get a dog and I wanted to see it, so I made a short day trip over to see it and have to go back tonight."

"Like I said," Téa said to Tristan, "it's just his luck."

"What is?" Joey asked, knowing that if they talked about luck they must mean him.

"That Mokuba came." Téa explained. "You'd never manage to win the bet if Seto hadn't gotten him a dog."

"Oh it's not luck then," Joey answered with a grin. "I gave Seto the dog but he doesn't like Mutt any more than Yugi does. Maybe even a little less. So he's passing him on to Mokuba."

"Are you sure you know what your doing?" Yugi asked Mokuba.

"I don't have as many toys and he behaved alright at Seto's so far. Apart from the fact that he jumps up on my brother whenever he tries to call Joey a mutt." Mokuba explained with a laugh.

"Told ya it would help me one day when I teach him that." Joey said with a grin.

"Which is why he has to go." Seto sai.d "I'm not going to let your dog stay when you teach him such manners."

"You really are a jerk, you know that?" Joey asked but grinned.

"And you're a mutt, so deal with it." Seto answered but to everyone's surprise he smiled at Joey when he said it and Joey simply smiled back, not looking upset at all. It was clear to all of them that something must have changed, but apart form Mokuba, no one knew what that could be.

"By the way," Joey said, "you two better pay up."

"That's mean." Tristan said. "We wouldn't have make you pay up."

"I would have paid." Joey said, "Sooner or later anyway. After all a bet is a bet, so pay up."

Both of them handed Joey the money they owed him and Joey passed it on to Yugi. "Here you go pal, and sorry for taking the money without asking."

"It's fine Joey, really." Yugi said. "I understand why you did that but what did you need the money for anyway?"

"For a tag for the dog." Joey explained. "But he won't need it now. It doesn't fit when Mokuba gets him."

"Why not?" Mokuba asked.

"Because it reads that the dog is to be returned to me if he gets lost." Seto explained.

"Nope," Joey said, "It said, that he is to be returned to the biggest jerk in the world. But yeah, technically you're right, since you're the biggest jerk in the world. But I still have to thank you for letting me decorate a tree. That actually was nice of you."

"He did what?" Tristan asked astonished. He couldn't have heard right, Kaiba wouldn't do something nice for Joey, would he?

"He went out with me yesterday to get a tree. He didn't have one when I came to give him Mutt as a present and so we went out into the countryside to get one from a forest." Joey said with a smile. "And then I had to make self-made decorations, because the shops were closed and he didn't have any from the last year, but he had the top and was kind enough to bring it and even let me put it on the tree and before I forget, he still had the lights for it and brought them too." Joey said, smiling all the while.

"I really need to find a way to make you shut up when you start babbling such embarrassing things." Seto said with a death glare towards Joey.

"He's lying, isn't he?" Téa asked Mokuba, who just shook his head. He had seen the tree and didn't doubt for a second that Joey was the one to decorate it. Seto would never have decorated it with self-made snowflakes and stars out of paper. Mokuba was surprised that Seto had one at all until now.

"I told ya that ya first need to figure out how to make me shut up." Joey said with a grin.

"I bet I know a way." Seto said, remembering how Joey had shut him up the night before.

"I bet it ain't going to work." Joey said grinning.

"Don't bet," Seto answered grinning back at him "You'll loose that one."

"That's what Téa and Tristan said but look who won." Joey retorted to him, still grinning.

"Will you shut up on your own or will I need to prove my point?" Seto asked.

"You may try to prove, because like I said yesterday, I ain't shutting up." Joey said and soon was quiet because his lips were sealed with Seto's. The three friends that hadn't known what the change was, stared at the two kissing guys speechlessly. Unlike Joey, who started to speak again the second Seto removed his lips, "You´re still a jerk…" That wasn't all he wanted to say but he had to make a break, because Seto kissed him once more to stop him. "…and I'm still…" he continued as soon as he could but returned the kiss he felt soon after happily. "…yapping, so give it up." Joey managed to finish that sentence and looked into the face of a rather angry looking dragon with a big grin on his own face. "Really Seto, did ya think ya can stop me from talking if ya treat me to a kiss every time I annoy the hell out of ya? But hey, where is my next kiss? I'm still yapping."

Now Seto grinned at Joey and whispered, "How would you like to lick some cream and chocolate sauce from my chest tonight, when Mokuba is gone?" Joey blushed but stared at Seto with excitement. "But you only get to do that if you manage to keep quiet for...let's start with 10 minutes."

Joey looked at the time and then made a movement like he was locking his mouth and nodded.

"What did you tell him?" Mokuba asked his brother with a grin, while Yugi and the rest was still staring at Seto and Joey.

"Secret but I doubt that anyone can make him speak for 10 minutes, unless I promise him that he gets his treat even if he does, which I won't." Seto said with an evil grin.

"You kissed him," Tristan suddenly said, sounding utterly disgusted. "Joey, how could you let him KISS you?"

But Joey just grinned and shrugged. He really loved both cream and chocolate. And to have both from Seto's chest was nearly like the ultimate treat. There was only one thing that could possibly be better. Ice cream, chocolate sauce and cream from Seto's, well let's just say a little further down than his chest.

"Tell me Joey, how can you let him not only kiss you but also try to stay quiet for that jerk?" Tristan asked. "What is he doing to you pal? I'll help you no matter what it is he does to you, just tell me."

But Joey just rolled his eyes and grinned at him, shaking his head. Seto wasn't doing anything to him after all, at least nothing that required any help from his friends.

"I bet I can make Joey talk." Téa said. "Joey, if you tell me right now, I'll buy you as much ice cream as you want every day for a month."

Joey bit his lip and looked at Seto helplessly. He really wanted that ice cream. But Seto whispered to Joey. "You'll get ice cream and even a cherry with it if you want, just stay quiet."

Joey smiled and nodded fiercely. Téa might be able to promise him ice cream for a month but Seto had a nicer plate and Joey doubted that Téa could promise him to let him have that much ice cream from Seto's chest. Only Seto could do that.

"Joey?" Téa asked. "Don't tell me he just promised you even more ice cream?"

Joey shook his head and moved his hand up, putting his index finger a little over his thumb to indicate that he had promised a little.

"You mean, he only promised a little more ice cream?" She asked and Joey shook his head again, pointing to Téa and moving his hands apart and then to Seto before moving his fingers close together again to show that he was promising less.

"You mean, you stay quiet even though he is offering you less ice cream than I do?" Téa asked. "Are you getting something else? Because I promise that if it isn't too expensive I'll give you the same." She watched Joey shaking his head and said, "So it is expensive?" Joey shook his head and pointed at Seto's chest.

"Have you ever heard about discretion, you stupid mutt?" Seto asked, happy that he didn't blush "If you even try to let them know about that part of the deal in anyway, you might as well talk again because you won't get anything."

Joey looked at him angrily and opened his mouth, close to saying an insult but he shut it again. He looked around angrily until he grabbed a cushion of the couch and hit Seto at the head with it, happy again at the face Seto made now. Joey just loved that he could still annoy the hell out of Seto.

"You might as well give up." Mokuba said with a happy smile on his face. "I bet Seto promised him something none of you can. And you don't need to worry about the kissing. Unless it gets too much. I wasn't able to talk to them at all during the ride here, hell I hardly got them to get out once we where here. They are glued to each other ever since they got together."

"They can't be." Tristan said. "They hate each other and insult each other. They did just now before and after the kissing."

"And in between, he called me a jerk after all." Seto said grinning again at the shocked look on Tristan's face and put an arm around his newest and most precious possession. He was happy to feel Joey cuddle against him. "But we don't hate each other, we actually love each other, whether you like it or not, Joey is mine now. By the way Mokuba, this means that we both will have a dog now." Seto felt Joey jump up and look at him happily, about to say something before he moved a hand over his mouth to stop himself from making a sound. He just jumped up and down and pointed at himself and then moved his hand letting it hover over the floor at about the same height Mutt has. "No Joey, Mokuba is getting that annoying beast you dragged into my house. I'm not going to keep that beast." Seto said, watching Joey look at him confused and disappointed.

"Then how comes that we'll both have a dog?" Mokuba asked his brother, knowing that Joey would never be able to get whatever Seto had promised him, if he didn't get an answer to that question.

"Easy," Seto said with an evil smirk on his face. "You get the four legged Mutt and I'll keep Joey." And this time Seto grabbed the cushion, when Joey tried to hit him in the face with it again. "You're way too predictable Joey."

Joey looked at the time and was happy to see that the 10 minutes were just over "Hell I'm predictable, I bet ya didn't see that kiss last night coming, did ya?"

"No, I didn't." Seto admitted. "But it is really, really rare that I don't know what you say or do long before you do it."

"I've noticed." Joey said clearly upset and folded his arms over his chest, "How do ya do that anyway?"

"I just know you." Seto said and pulled him closer. "I studied you for years in high school. You were the only reason that I attended school whenever I could and never tried to take a few extra days off, pretending them to be for work. Not that I would need that much time to study you, considering that you're way too predictable. But it was fun fighting with you."

"Really?" Joey asked, much happier that Seto had loved him back then already and came to school just because of him.

"Really." Seto said with a smile and kissed him once more.

"But ya going to keep that promise, right? I mean, I stayed quiet for 10 minutes." Joey said proud of himself that he'd managed to do it.

"Yes, I never break my word." Seto said with a smile.

"Do I have to have it from where you said?" Joey asked and Seto looked confused, he thought that was the only reason he stayed quiet, even though Téa was offering more ice cream. But he understood as soon as Joey asked what he wanted instead. "I'd rather have a little dragon plate."

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><p>Authors note:<p>

Thanks to .Lover, dancing elf, Silverclaw the Destined, Sasu-Sama' Sarukiji-Sempai, Angel Dove1, sword slasher and Twilight684 for the reviews and to everyone else who read or faved my story and I hope that everyone had a great Christmas and got all the presents that you wished for (Just like Joey did :P)

Also my friend who tries to find all the many grammar and spelling mistakes I make is having some major exams coming up and won't be able to beta for me for a few month. She really needs to study. So you will have to wait or offer to beta my next story. I already finished writing a sequel to beloved slave so if you like to do that contact me in a review or PM or whatever otherwise you'll have to wait a few month.


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